A new location may have to be found for the new Parliament complex, which was going to be constructed at a site in Bangkok’s Kiak Kai area, Deputy House Speaker Charoen Chankomol said yesterday.
“The relocation proposal will be raised with House Speaker Somsak Kiartsuranont on Monday,” he said in his capacity as committee chairman in charge of Parliament construction work.
Charoen said the new site would be chosen from plots available in Nonthaburi’s Pak Kret district and in Saraburi.
He explained that a new site had to be considered because the Kiak Kai location was plagued with problems, such as the risk of flooding, the landscape being compromised due to the planned construction of a new bridge over the Chao Phraya River and a delay on land appropriation.
If the present site is used, he said, the construction deadline would have to be extended from 2013 to 2017, while the complex would be completed in time if either of the two plots were to be used. However, he admitted that the Pak Kret plot, which is being used by the Royal Irrigation Department as a golf course, would put several caddies out of work.
As for the plot in Saraburi being about 100 kilometres outside Bangkok, he argued that the distance might not pose a problem because a high-speed train network is planned for the route.
He said that he has invited representatives from the city administration and other relevant agencies in charge of the two pieces of land to attend the meeting on Monday and voice their views on the matter.
